"Labor Unions, Environmentalists, and Indigenous People Unite to Defeat Mining Interests in Argentina", 27 December 2021

...The people of the southern Argentinian province of Chubut are celebrating...After a fierce struggle against a recently enacted zoning law that would have opened the province up to large-scale silver, copper, and lead mining by multinational corporations like Canadian Pan American Silver, the governor was ultimately forced to backtrack. The law in question, which was approved on December 15, was repealed last Tuesday, just five days later.

...[T]he movement against the law spread rapidly throughout the province. In a context of growing austerity, unemployment, and poverty, thousands took to the streets to make their voices heard. Dozens of protesters were injured and arrested in the brutal repression, and 16 government buildings were set on fire or otherwise destroyed, including the provincial house of government. Protesters were not only demanding the repeal of the law but also Governor Mariano Arcioni’s resignation.

The governor...has seized every opportunity to relax mining regulations against the people’s will, with the support of the national government, local business associations, and union bureaucracies.

The so-called Law on Sustainable Metal Mining and Industrial Development for the Province of Chubut had been unexpectedly approved in an expedited procedure the day before a mass protest was to be held against the bill...

Not only would large-scale mining fail to produce any real economic benefits for the people of Chubut, but it would also have dire environmental consequences...

The main beneficiaries would undoubtedly have been multinational mining companies like Yamana Gold or Pan American Silver...